Blessed
by JSB
Summary: One wish is given to one lucky person as per choice of the gods. Unfortunately for the population of Elibe, the god's pick everyone's favorite womanizer, Sain, to receive the blessing. Read as chaos ensues, and a new quest starts.
1. Chapter 1

Authors Pre-notes: I don't own Fire Emblem or anything else, unless I say I do, and that's still up for debate, and without further interruptions, I give a fic, brought to you by JSB productions and with some help and pre-reading by the RLnaruhina Corporation.

Blessed

Ch.1

"There is a legend about a room that has not been entered in many ages. The very room rumored to be the place of the goddess Elimine's ascension into godhood. The legend states that the first living being to enter the holy room of ascension, shall be granted one wish that they desire. Sounds a lot like a fairy tale told to little children, but, I assure you, I have found the truth, and together, we shall discover the truth of Elimine's ascension!" a man yelled, throwing his arms up in front of his audience. He would have been much applauded if it wasn't for the simple fact that there were only two men in front of him, staring at him like he was crazy.

"Ummm…Seta, aren't you a little over anxious? We've just discovered the doorway to the Goddess' old palace," said one of the men, a Shaman in his early twenties. The man wore simple brown traveling clothes, a gray cloak, and had square shaped glasses that he was cleaning with his cloak. He was more dedicated to archeology than magic, but had amazingly high endurance for a magic user. "We still have quite a bit of work ahead of us, and all we did was dig to find the door".

"Don't worry Keitaro, I have no doubt we'll find the room, and we've already succeeded in the hard manual part. Now all we have to do is pass all the traps that are probably in there, and then get that wish. You could wish you were smarter, and then get into the academy," stated the overly optimistic leader known as Seta. Seta was Druid, but like Keitaro, was more dedicated to archeology than his magic art, but was still a master of it. He was a tall man, wearing a normal set of traveler's clothes, which contained extra pockets for small archeology gear. Over his travelers clothes he wore a white cloak, which is unusual for Druids, and he had rectangular glasses and short black hair. Unnaturally, he also possessed an unknown knack of high endurance. "Besides, we have to award part-timer here for all his hard work, and not giving up on us".

The man in question wore light plated, green armor made for cavalry, with the crest of a Lycian domain. He had green eyes and brown hair held above his eyes with a cloth headband.

"I have a name you know, it's Sain, got it?" the man said, getting slightly annoyed that he was being called "part-timer". After leaving Caelin, the ex-paladin had gone searching for mercenary work, but because of his tendencies, many had refused to hire him. The only job he could find was with these two crazy archeologists. Now, he had to suffer their many lapses of idiocy, which will most likely get them all killed.

"Right, right, I know, but your still a part-timer" the leader said optimistically, pushing the great door open and walking in, with Keitaro following him.

"What about this job is part-time?" Sain asked no one in particular, shouldering the supply pack and following the two 'ancient magic' users into the old palace and decided closing the door would be a good idea.

"Its times like these that I wish I chose to be an anima mage," the young shaman said, stumbling through the darkness behind his teacher. The passageway was almost black; there was a little tiny bit of glowing light coming from somewhere none of them could actually see.

"Hey part-timer, get out a torch will ya', it looks like we might need it" Seta said, stopping the little trek to wait for a torch.

"You expect me to find a torch, as well as matches, inside this pack, with no light at all?" growled the ex-paladin, just being angry for having to work for the guy. He could stand Keitaro, who had some common sense, but the leader was just weird.

"Ah, sorry part-timer. I guess we'll have to get through this without light," and with that said, the druid set off down the dark corridor, without stumbling. It took a lot for Sain to get through the passage, carrying all the heavy supplies on his back, but he took it in stride, believing that once this was over, he might actually have some success with women. In fact, he might even become famous, and rich for having been part of this discovery.

During Sain's musings of his future, the group of three had made some progress traveling down the passageway. Keitaro had tripped a few times, almost losing his glasses in the process. Seta was happily whistling while walking forward sometimes stopping to mention some obstacles to the followers behind him. The random winding of the passage made it very hard for Sain to keep track of direction, which he lost after a few turns and just followed the faint outlining of shaman in front of him.

The inclines and declines of the passageway started to really annoy the ex-paladin, especially with the supply pack he carried, which seemed to keep getting heavier as they advanced into the temple. They followed the slight bit of light until they reached a large room, somehow dully lightened by some glowing stones attached to the columns supporting the room.

"Well, looks like as good a place as any to set up our stuff," Seta said looking at the architecture around him. With that being said, Sain found a good place for the pack, and unceremoniously let it fall to the ground with a thud. Sitting down to rest, Sain watched as a tired Keitaro walked up to one of the glowing stones.

"Hey, Seta! These stones appear to have weird symbols on them" Keitaro yelled while feeling the engraved symbols with his fingers.

"Ah, probably ancient magical runes that were placed on most of the eerie things we will find in this palace. Only powerful light magic users could pull that off, it takes a lot of magic to make those stones bear light for this long a time." The druid looked around looked around the room again. "Hey part-timer, go see where that giant door leads to," Seta pointed to a giant gate-like door.

Getting up out of his sitting position, Sain grumbled as he stalked over to the door and pushed as hard as he could. The door opened slowly, and a bright yellow ray of sunlight came through the opening. Squinting his eyes, Sain tried to get used to the brightness and see where he was walking, hoping he wouldn't fall off a cliff or something of that magnitude. The ex-paladin stumbled forward and saw a runic circle on the balcony he was currently standing on.

"Hey! Employer! There's some weird design on this balcony. Sort of looks one of those teleportation runes" Sain theorized, believing he had seen something like this somewhere else. Seta stepped out onto the balcony and whistled as he looked down the cliff the balcony was jutting from.

"Well that's a big fall, didn't think we went up that high on the journey here," the druid commented, putting a hand up to his forehead looking out in the distance, "But what a nice view". Sain slapped a hand to his face, annoyed that Seta had completely ignored him…again.

"Hey part-timer," Seta turned taking his pipe out of his mouth, "How would you know anything about teleportation runes anyway?"

"I've seen one used in the past, during the battles with Nergal and his followers"

"Ah I see, but you are correct, it is a teleportation rune setup…now lets see," Seta took a small perfectly round darkened stone, and walked to the center of the runic circle. He placed the stone in a small crevice that fitted the stone perfectly and looked back at Sain.

"I'll be back in just a sec," the man smiled and disappeared in a flash of light. Sain's jaw dropped at the sight--sure, he knew Seta was powerful, but he didn't think he had gone far enough to master teleportation. A few seconds later, Seta reappeared, this time having all the equipment, along with the packhorses they had traveled on.

Composing himself, Sain grabbed the reigns of one of the horses and started leading it inside the palace, idly wondering if he should ask about the teleportation. Keitaro was looking around the place, already having produced many vases and other ancient artifacts he had found around the main room. Blinking slightly, the ex-paladin suddenly realized something that could have helped him during the hiking through the long passageway.

"Wait a minute…If you could have just teleported all the supplies here, then why the hell did I have to carry that heavy Supply pack!" he yelled at the team leader, who only started scratching the back of his head, chuckling embarrassingly.

"You see part-timer, I didn't know if there would be any means of teleporting within this place. I can't exactly teleport without help from a catalyst, which this stone comes in handy for," The druid said, tossing the black stone up and then catching it as it came back down.

Keitaro was still busy collecting old artifacts, and piling them in one spot in the room. "Sweet! Another artifact" the man yelled out pulling a priceless vase out of the rubble, somehow still intact.

"Good job Keitaro!" the druid cheered then turned to Sain again. "Part-timer, why don't you start by dumping all the useless rubble down the side of the cliff there" Seta jerked a thumb back to the said cliff. The only response he got was a groan from an extremely tired man.

"Well, I could always send you to search for traps, down that-a-way," the man pointed down a certain dark hallway. "Supposedly, it leads to the old treasure room, probably contains some ancient sealed spells among other things."

"I'd rather search for traps, it takes less energy, and is less embarrassing for a warrior like myself," Sain stated as he reached for his favorite green painted iron lance, and walked down the hallway Seta had pointed to.

"You'll need a torch, Sain, unless you want to fall into any traps that are waiting there," Keitaro stated, handed Sain a lit torch. "Be careful, we don't want to have to carry an injured man or a dead man through a trap-filled hallway".

"Thanks for the warning, makes me feel so much better," Sain said sarcastically, walking down the passage, with his torch, his green Lance, and a small knapsack slung over his shoulder with a few extra supplies. The other two men watched him walk, until the light could no longer be seen through the darkness of the passageway.

"You think he'll be okay, Seta?"

"Who knows Keitaro, who knows?"

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"Jeez, this is one creepy tunnel. Maybe I'll have to take a lady in here with me sometime, she'd get scared and then she would seek comfort in her knight," the ex-paladin sighed, imagining the scene that played out, oh so perfectly, in his head. Drool escaped from his mouth as his mind wandered a bit too far. "Can't lose focus now, wouldn't want to get stuck in a trap," he shook his head, banishing the very pleasant thoughts from controlling his mind.

Further down the tunnel Sain walked, the torch lighting the passageway, which seemed to be quite clear of any sort of rubble. He used his lance as a walking stick, if only to help keep track and obstacles on the floor he might find. The man kept walking down his path, until he found himself at a split in the passageways.

"Oh great, now which way do I go..." Sain groaned. "Well, at least there were no traps so far. Well, always best to go with my gut instinct, which says to turn left!" he said, enthusiastically with his eyes closed, turning to the left, until he walked straight into a wall and dropped his torch on to the floor.

"GAHH! My Nose!" Sain complained, holding his nose as if it would fall off. He waited until the pain died down before defiantly glaring at the wall that had wronged him so. Blinking slightly, the ex-paladin stared directly at a certain spot in the wall, the writing catching his attention.

Sain blinked again, feeling the engrave writing that was on the wall with his hand, still leaving the torch on the floor.

"So, is this what Lord Pent was talking about?"

Pulling his knapsack off of his shoulder, Sain opened up and pulled out a very old book. The book was still held together by leather binding, with the exact same writing on it that was on the wall in front of him.

"It can't be that simple, can it?" he asked to no one in particular. Looking at the wall, he tried to find anymore clues he could, completely ignoring the bright whitish light emanating from the Tome he was holding. That was until, the light threatened to take away his ability to see, and he shielded his eyes from the harmful, yet comfortingly warm light.

Sain blinked a few times, and wondered exactly where the wall that he was supposed to be facing disappeared to. Shrugging, he figured it was all part of the magic of this whole Palace.

"I guess that wasn't the seal after all," he sighed, "Oh well nothing to do now but move on".

Walking forward into the room beyond the now disappeared wall, Sain was awed by the look of the room. Large pillars stood like giants from floor to ceiling in what looked like a huge temple. At the end of the room, stood an ivory pedestal, which was surrounded by a circle of light.

"That's really odd…I should probably stop wondering where that light comes from," the ex-paladin shook his head, trying to clear his mind of the thoughts of defying reality. He walked on the seemingly designated pathway between columns to the glowing pedestal, still wondering slightly why it wasn't the treasure room he was sent to. Looking at the pedestal, he recognized the writing on it to be the same as on the wall and the book still in his hand.

"I guess this is the seal Lord Pent was talking about," he sighed, looking at the book in his right hand. He placed the book on the pedestal, waiting for anything to happen, hoping that was all he had to do. Stepping out of the circle of light, Sain had to cover his eyes again from the blinding light that threatened to make him loose his ability of sight for the second time that day.

After realizing the light had died down, the ex-paladin uncovered his eyes to see a woman standing….errr…floating in the air before him. She was beautiful, very beautiful, at least to Sain. But that isn't very hard, is it? She had long blond hair and wore a white robe, with some yellow designs etched in. The only thing off about her was the blue marks on her face, a circle on her forehead and two ovals right under her eyes.

"Hello Mr. Sain, I am the Goddess Elimine, and I am here to grant you a wish".

Authors Post-note: Alright…I got something done…finally. Anyway I don't own Seta or Keitaro, they belong to Ken Akamatsu-sensei. I just used them for cameos for parts they both fit in perfectly. The idea of this story came from the anime/manga series called Oh My Goddess! By Kosuke Fujishima. If you know the storyline of the series, this story will not be the same. If you don't know the storyline, you don't really need to, all you really need to know is that I used the Goddess/God marks from the series…they don't belong to me. Sorry for anyone who now loves this fic, but it won't be updated until I get back from 7 weeks of camp, and will probably be postponed until I get the nerve to write again. Sorry for the long Authors note…C&C is very much appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I apologize for the long wait…really, being addicted to numerous anime series' is not helpful in any sort of way, nor is a hard drive that contains what I had for a story crashing on me and me losing whatever I had, this story being part of it. Anyway, I had to restart from scratch, and it turned out better I think.

To zew, because I can't respond to him/her any other way: No, I will not make this a Sain/Rebecca story, I have other plans.

Anyway, thanks to RLnaruhina for all his help and beta'ing.

Blessed Chapter 2

_"Hello Mr. Sain, I am the Goddess Elimine, and I am here to grant you a wish"._

The ex-paladin stood there speechless, digesting the tiny bit of unbelievable information he had just received. The gears were turning, furiously, but no answer was found, and the response system went to its default action. The one type of action that drove most women in the army he used to serve in to ignore, or run from him. The smile that formed might have looked arrogant; in fact, it was arrogant, and it pretty much explained the next few words that came from the egotistical man's mouth.

"Ah, so a goddess has deemed me worthy of a visit. It must be my roguish charm…" the supercilious words were halted by a loud whacking sound that came from where the blond goddess' hand connected with Sain's (figuratively) big head.

"Oww…that wasn't very nice, you know," Sain muttered, rubbing the back of his head. "I didn't think goddesses were supposed to be violent beings."

"Yes, well, I didn't like the attitude I was getting, so I had to do something. Besides, arrogance wasn't one of the reasons you were brought here," the goddess smiled again, bringing here hands together in front of her.

"I was brought here? By who?" the ex-paladin questioned, raising an eyebrow. He would have noticed if someone was trying to trick him into going here. Why would his boss, who wanted knowledge, let him come here, knowing this was where he would get the wish.

"You were not brought here by anyone, you were brought by fate, because the gods deemed you worthy of receiving a wish," the goddess claiming to be St. Elimine said looking up to the ceiling, as if to see through it into the heavens. "And thank you for bringing my precious book back to me. Who knows what could have gone wrong with the strongest light magic loose in this world."

"Uhh…right, and your welcome, I guess. Now, miss goddess, I guess I'll make this wish that I'll be granted," he waited for the goddess' nod and coughed before continuing. "I wish that my companions and myself would acquire the knowledge that we came here see…"

The blond goddess cut him off, grinning mischievously, "Now Mr. Sain, I know that isn't the wish you truly want to make. Wishes come from the heart, not the friends you have."

Sain sighed before taking a few minutes to compose himself and think. Elimine stood…err floated where she was patiently, smiling pleasantly, as if it were her only purpose in the universe. "Alright, how about this one then," the mercenary trap handler paused, making sure to phrase his wish right.

"**I wish that my one true love would find and fall in love with me.**"

He was met with silence, the kind of silence that crickets would be present for to make the situation worse, had it not been inside a room that was sealed for many, many years.

Then something happened. The blue marks that were part of the goddess' face started to glow white and she closed her eyes. The room began to shake, and Sain couldn't help but wonder if the whole palace was shaking, but he held his ground, looking at the most probable cause of the shaking, as wild winds started picking up.

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Inspecting the newest, old clay pot he had found, the shaman known as Keitaro cursed as he almost dropped the pot to its death when the room began to shake uncontrollably. He looked around the room to see dust fall from higher up ledges, wondering what was going on. The shaking soon receded, which left him to question if their trap eliminator had met his untimely demise.

"Umm…Seta, what exactly was that?" the shaman asked his teacher, who had unfortunately got caught under a bit of rubble that broken off from the wall during the quake.

"Well Keitaro," the man started, pushing the stone away so he could stand up. "I figure our friend found the Room of Ascension and made his wish."

"But how? I thought you sent him to the treasure vault?" Keitaro asked.

The druid took out a map from a pocket in his white cloak and looked at it trivially and shrugged. "Seems I was holding the map upside down." A couple of crashes could be heard as Keitaro fell on top of his pile of ancient artifacts, breaking a few. "Not the end of the world, we still got to see Elimine's palace. And there's still the treasure vault, it's not like we'll leave this place empty handed."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," the shaman said, getting up from the pile of recently made worthless junk. "Damn, and those were good finds too."

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As the rumbling died down Sain couldn't help but stare at the female being in front of him, winds from nowhere ruffling her celestial looking clothing calmly. The winds felt powerful to the ex-paladin turned mercenary, but they barely affected the hovering goddess. The winds finally came to a stationary halt when the goddess opened her eyes and the marks on her face returned to the blue color they were before.

Instead of the beaming face Sain was expecting to see, he found the goddess with a saddened expression, an expression that definitely didn't fit the usually happy deity, from what he had seen.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Sain, but the wish you had made was denied. I'm sorry, but you were only allowed one wish. I'm very sorry."

The heartbroken look that was on the man's face was enough to bring tears to the goddess' eyes. It looked like the face of a young boy who had received his favorite gift ever, only to have it suddenly taken away, or broken right in front of him.

Forcing a smile, Sain looked over to the crying goddess. "It's okay, I should've known better. Now stop crying, I'm not allowed to let pretty girls cry, goddess or not. Thank you for considering me," he bowed politely.

Elimine smiled slightly, "Thank you Mr. Sain. You may leave now, and may you go with the gods' blessings."

Sain bowed again, and left the room, picking up the torch, which was conveniently still lit. Walking back through the hallways, he could swear he heard the sweet singing of a beautiful, female voice from the direction he had come from.

_'May you go with the blessings from the goddess of this world'_

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Keitaro looked up from his recent find to see the green armored man arrive back in the room. The man was smiling, but it seemed to not be a happy one.

"So, part-timer, how did it go? You get what you wished for?" the employer asked, wearing the happy-go-lucky face he usually had.

"Unfortunately, no. It was denied; I guess it was meant to be," Sain said, shrugging, and began to smile enthusiastically. "But no failed wish is going to stop The Great Sain from finding his true love, I'll find her, and then live the rest of my days with the lovely lady that will be lucky to be my bride," the now determined man exclaimed, a clenched gloved hand in front of him, showing his resolve.

"That's the spirit, now I see why Pent asked me to head this trip," the druid said, pulling a pipe out from his pocket into his mouth. Sain eyed the man suspiciously and was about to question his employer about the last statement, but lost his chance.

"Well, I figure it's about time to go check out the treasure trove, since its our only purpose for being here, right Keitaro?" the shaman apprentice nodded to his boss and stood up, adjusting his glasses.

"Wait, I thought our original reason was to get knowledge from the wish?" Sain was confused, and it didn't look like he would be enlightened.

The black-haired man in the white cloak winked through the square glasses at Sain, grinning mischievously. "Nope, our quest was to discover things from the past. The reason you were here was for the wish. Now let's get going!" the man started walking into the darkness, his assistant following behind him, a worried look on his face.

"I really hope there aren't any traps," the brown-haired shaman said before disappearing into the darkness. Sain followed, his lance strapped to his back, and holding a recently fueled torch.

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"This is all your fault Sain! Why didn't you point out the trigger before I stepped on it" the shaman yelled, breathing heavily due to the running all of them were doing.

"That torch wasn't very bright, how was I going to spot anything on the floor from the back anyway?" Sain questioned rhetorically, having already dropped the torch, forcing the inexperienced group of explorers to rely on the faint light projected from the weird light stones.

"Don't worry about it guys, we'll get out of this one, no problem," the optimistic druid said, smiling like an idiot the entire time while they ran. "I haven't had this much fun in a long while."

"You call this FUN?! We're running for our lives here," an exasperated Keitaro hollered at his boss. Indeed, they were running for lives, because behind them there was a very large boulder of death and destruction rolling along its sloped path, which the trio had no escape from.

"I'm sure the employer is right, we'll get out this," the cheerful ex-paladin continued running, gaining ahead of the other two. He pointed off into the distance getting his two companions to look. "There looks to be some ropes hanging from the ceiling where the path drops down. Jump onto those and we'll avoid it."

All three sped up their running, getting ready to leap and grab the hanging ropes. Seta was the first one to reach the point of jumping, easily grabbing onto the rope and hanging onto it. The next was Sain, who unfortunately mistimed his jump completely and fell down the next decline of the path and continued running for his life. Keitaro was the last to make a jump, and almost didn't grab onto one of the ropes. As the shaman swung back and forth on the hanging rope, avoiding the giant rolling rock of doom, he asked the same question he had asked earlier that day.

"You think he'll be okay, Seta?"

"Who knows, Keitaro, who knows?"

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_'Aw crap. Why am I not surprised this happened,'_ Sain thought to himself as he continued running. The ex-paladin tried to think of anyway to get out of the situation, focusing on trying to remember something. His eye's widened when he remembered something his comrade Guy, the Swordsmaster, had come up with. _'There are still plenty of lovely ladies in Elibe who have yet to experience the presence a man such as I, so I can't die just yet…I just hope this works'_ the desperate man sprinted forward to gain more distance away from what would probably be the cause of his death. He twisted around and drew his green tinted steel sword from his scabbard on his waist and held it out in front of him, focusing all his attention on the weapon.

The boulder gained more distance, making Sain really worried. At a certain point in the rock's path, Sain jumped into the air, sword raised above his head. Focusing any possible metaphysical energy he might have into the blade, he made a vertical slash with the steel sword, yelling, "STONE SPLITTING SLASH!!" There really wasn't any point in yelling the name of the technique; it just made feel better and confident about possibly succeeding.

The boulder suddenly glowed white and disappeared without a trace. No horribly quick death of being crushed underneath a giant boulder, or the feeling of success in seeing the boulder split in two.

"That wasn't supposed to happen…I think."

"Oh! Silly me, I forgot to disable the protective traps in this place," looking above where the boulder used to exist, Sain's eyes looked upon a being of loveliness. Long golden hair, a white and yellow flowing dress, and a beatific smile were all distinguishing characteristics of the goddess he had met earlier that day.

"I'm sorry about that Mr. Sain, but now all the traps are disabled and you may head down to the treasure vault. Now I must go, goodbye again Mr. Sain," in a flash of light, St. Elimine disappeared from Sain's sight, leaving him standing with his sword out, mouth gaping. The man's shoulders slumped as he lazily put his sword back in its scabbard, groaning sorrowfully.

"And I thought I had pulled it off too, damn."

A bright flash of orange light suddenly appeared, blinding the brown-haired man's vision for a few seconds. After he had gotten used to the light, he was able to make out the shape of his two friends walking towards him. He noticed the source of the light coming from the top of a staff one of them was holding and sighed knowingly.

"You had a torch staff this whole time, and never found it necessary to use?" Sain asked, more curious than angry.

"One can only use it so much, and the other path we went through was easy enough to walk through without it," the druid shrugged. "So what happened to the boulder? Did that technique actually work?"

"Nah I was saved by Elimine. I guess that makes up for the failed wish. Now let's get going to the treasure vault, since there are no more traps to worry about." Keitaro looked a bit worried by Sain's words.

"You sure there are no more traps?" he asked.

"Would you doubt the words of a goddess?"

"I guess not."

"Well then, with that settled," the optimistic Seta started, "Let us continue on!" With those words said, our group of heroes…or, tomb raiders, continued on their trek deeper into the palace.

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"Wow, this is Amazing!" the shaman apprentice was clearly in awe of the sight. He should have been, of course, having been part of the discovery of the greatest magic libraries that is known to exist in Elibe. One wall was covered with shelves of old books, tomes, and scrolls, many of which probably existed before the Scouring had taken place. Old vases were piled in the back, along with statues of Elimine herself, made out of gold, marble, and, silver.

All three of them went into their own little lands of searching, Seta looking along the shelves of books, occasionally picking out a few and looking through them. Keitaro went straight to the back of the room and took to the many vases and other artifacts with a small brush. Sain found himself looking at a bunch of weapons hanging on the wall across from the shelves of books.

Looking at a few of the weapons, the ex-paladin picked one of the swords off the wall and looked at it curiously.

"Ah the Wind Sword. A legendary blade that has been said to have harnessed the power of wind, to the point of creating tornados," Sain quickly turned around to see the speaker, Seta, his eyes giving off a mysterious glint.

"That sword probably would have been able to pull off what you were trying to do earlier; maybe you should take it with you," the man suggested.

"Maybe, but why wouldn't I just take as many of these weapons as I can carry?"

"Because, this palace is actually a secret from the world. There is too much power in this very room, that if the wrong people found out about it, this world would be doomed. People will see you having one of these legendary weapons as mere chance that you happened upon it. If you brought more outside this place, people would start to trace where you had been, and eventually find this place."

Sain contemplated the words for a few seconds, and then questioned the man further. "Wasn't the whole wish thing a legend?"

"Yes, it is a legend, but that's it. No one actually believes it, except for a select few. Pent knew about it through Athos, and I found out about it through a few clues, in which I went further into researching. That's when I found this thing," the druid said, pulling the black stone he had earlier.

"This was one of the three keys needed to get into this place. Another was that tome you gave back to St. Elimine."

"And what is the third key," Sain asked.

"That key, part-timer," the druid grinned mischievously and pointed right at the ex-paladin. "Was you."

"What?"

"You were the one chosen by the gods to receive any wish they desired, that they set within their limits. Love is a very pure thing that cannot be changed, and that's why it was denied. But still, you _were_ the one man who was given the gods' blessings," Seta explained, seeming to know everything about the situation.

Sain tried to think, really, he did. The whole situation was planned, and he had no clue he had been led all the way here without figuring any of it out. His mind shut down, and went back to default for the second day.

"Of course they would deem me worthy of a blessing. I am the greatest man to exist."

"And I doubt that pompous attitude was part of why you were chosen." Sain's prideful smile disappeared, and was replaced by a look of shame.

"Damn…that was worse than usual. Sure, I act chauvinistic, but pompous was something I've never planned being," the brown-haired man scratched his head, completely embarrassed.

"Hmm…," Seta looked at the ex-paladin inquisitively. "Yeah, I'd feel that way too after saying what you had. But still, just don't tell anyone about this place. The traps were here for a reason, and that boulder's main purpose was to seal this vault so that nobody got in here, until the right time. The boulder was magically enhanced so nothing besides the power of the goddess could stop it."

"How do you know all this?" Sain asked.

"Research, part timer, lots and lots of research," the druid smiled again, and then turned to face where Keitaro was looking over the many old relics. "Yo! Keitaro! You ready to go?"

The brown-haired shaman's head poked out of a pile of vases, smiling. "Yeah, Seta, I got about three things I'll bring with me, if that's okay."

Sain looked confused again, but before he was going to ask another question, the druid began to answer it.

"Remember, we don't want the wrong people to find this place, so we are bringing as little as possible out into the world," the taller man took a book off the table next to him, and presented it to Sain. "Here, take this. It contains the necessary knowledge and concepts of what was needed to pull off that move you tried before. If you're lucky, you might be the first non-Sacaen to pull off the same moves Swordsmasters can."

Taking the book from the druid, Sain, Keitaro and Seta got ready to leave Elimine's Palace, and never mention it again. Sain strapped the Wind Sword and its scabbard to his back and waited at the door for his boss and co-worker. Seta picked out two books from the shelves while Keitaro tied a large vase to his back with a few ropes. Even with the odd weight, the Shaman was still able to walk quite well.

They walked up the path they had just run down, and eventually made it back to the room where they left all their gear. They packed up all the gear, and placed the bags back on the packhorses, without speaking to one another. They briefly looked at the place where they had experienced so much, especially for only one day. Sain kept expecting to see the goddess that had saved his life to appear one last time, but that never happened.

The group of explorers walked the packhorses out onto the balcony, where Seta took out his black stone again.

"Last chance to see this view guys; better enjoy it," the druid said, as the runes on the floor started to light up. The sun that was setting behind the cliffs that surrounded the balcony tinted the sky a pink and orange color, and outlined the few clouds with an orange light, making the scene surreal. But it had disappeared quickly, and their vision came to look upon the entrance they had gone through, which had somehow been covered by a large boulder.

"So that's where she sent it. That would have been really annoying if we came back that way," Sain commented. "Well, this is where I leave you guys; got my own quest to complete."

"Good luck, part-timer," the wise druid stuck out his hand, which Sain grasped and shook. Sain then walked over to Keitaro and they shook hands.

"It's been a pleasure suffering next you Keitaro; good luck getting into that academy," the ex-paladin said.

"You too, Sain."

And with that, the ex-soldier known as Sain, set out on his journey.

"You think he'll be okay, Seta?"

"Who knows, Keitaro, who knows?"

OMAKE TIME…

Omake 1, by JSB

Sain sighed before taking a few minutes to compose himself and think. Elimine stood…err floated where she was patiently, smiling pleasantly, as if it were her only purpose in the universe. "Alright, how about this one then," the mercenary trap handler paused, making sure to phrase his wish right.

"**I wish for a goddess like you, to stay by my side forever.**"

He was given an immediate response, but it wasn't very much to his liking.

"Oh dear, I'm sorry Mr. Sain, but after the last time, any wishes like those have been set for automatic denial. The heavens can't afford to let another deity be taken so easily from the system. It's like an infinite vacation."

In a different universe, on a planet called Earth, in a Buddhist temple in Japan, a black-haired college student sneezed a couple of times as he ate the meal a goddess had prepared him.

"Keiichi, are you alright?" the brown-haired goddess asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Belldandy. Just had this weird feeling someone was scorning me."

Omake 2, by JSB

All three of them went into their own little lands of searching, Seta looking along the shelves of books, occasionally picking out a few and looking through them. Keitaro went straight to the back of the room and took to the many vases and other artifacts with a small brush. Sain found himself looking at a bunch of weapons hanging on the wall across from the shelves of books.

Looking at a few of the weapons, the ex-paladin picked a weird, pink colored bow off the wall, looking at curiously.

"Ah, Cupid's Bow. It is said that an arrow fired from this bow will make anyone fall in love with the first living being it sees...too bad you don't have the expertise to use one huh?"

Sain growled angrily as he broke the bow over his knee and threw it off to the side. He then picked a wicked looking maul off the wall.

"Hmm…Ah yes, the Hammer of Justice. Legend has it that this weapon can only be wielded by females, and if possession of a female, it will instantly teleport into her hands so they can pound the…perverted males that had brought up their righteous anger."

Omake 3 by RLnaruhina

"STONE SPLITTING SLASH!!" With a thunderous crash, the boulder slowed, and a cut appeared through the center.

Sain's eyes widened in surprise, "I did it? I did it!" He exclaimed in exultation.

'_Not quite, Mr. Sain.' _Sain heard a melodic voice inside his head, as he watched the boulder glow brightly for an instant, repairing itself as if it had never been hewn. He watched in horror as the boulder resumed its path of destruction. "Damnit, why do I have to get the boulder that can repair itself?" The ex-paladin lamented as he turned to resume his flight, only to see the boulder glow eerily and disappear completely.

"A fine attempt, Mr. Sain; if this had been an ordinary boulder, you would have stopped it for sure!"

A/N: Wow, over 4k words for one chapter…this is a new record for me. Well, I decided to make this fic more of an epic, then what I had originally planned, no clue how it will turn out. Major thanks go to RLnaruhina, who has helped me with planning this, and beta'd it for me. Read, enjoy, and wonder what will happen next, because I have no clue when the next update will come. Read and review...because when people review, the author gets happy and wants to update sooner. Constructive Criticism is wanted.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Woot…this is being started early…might change due to how long it'll take me to write it. And that would be a very long…long….long long….long long time. Add a few more "long"'s. And guess what, I'm treating you guys to a nice bonus…since it has been taking me a while. So enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing that I have used so far…well, not entirely I guess. Most of what is used belongs to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems, I believe.

**Blessed Ch.3**

The desert had never been anyone's favorite spot to be, especially when the bandits that lived nearby decided it was necessary to raid any group or person that appeared to be traveling through the deadly sea of sand. The Nabata desert was never known for easy traveling, which is why so few ever came through its shifting sands. The only ones who did travel through the hellish wasteland of Nabata were the ones who knew that there was something hidden in the desert. It was for this reason that Sain was surrounded by the desert bandits he had seen pulling the same strategy they had the last time he had fought them, with the Black Fang Resistance Force. Of course, back then it had been Lord Pent, the Mage General, who was caught in a tight pinch while Sain and his friends were the rescuers.

'Not this time,' Sain thought to himself. There was no chance that a large group of mercenaries or an army would decide to travel through the desert this time around, so he was on his own. It was also the worst possible fighting conditions the ex-paladin could have asked for. He hated the sand, only partially due to his experience as a cavalier. The other part was that his balance would easily be thrown off from the shifting sand beneath his feet.

Pulling the Silver Lance he had recently bought free from the holding strap, Sain held it in his right hand; ready for the strike he would deal to the first man to come into his range. The bandits were quite a ways off, and he figured the best way to deal with them was to stay where he was, and fight them as they came. Sure, bodies would be piling up around him…but it gave him a slight advantage. His lance had longer reach than the swords and axes of his enemy, so he could strike while they climbed over their dead comrades.

And that's when the ex-paladin noticed the group of mages that ran ahead of the barbarians and mercenaries.

"Crap," he muttered, realizing he had to rethink his battle plan. _ 'Staying in this spot would definitely not help me survive this'_. Gripping his lance tighter, he watched as the mages stopped a short distance away, but still not in range of a magic spell, waiting for their leader to step in front and address the outsider.

"Hullo traveler," the ugly leader with the big mouth said, causing Sain to groan. It seemed that the bandits were becoming more civil. "If ya could just hand ova all ya gold and ya weapons, ya might not die today," only a little more civil than last time, it seemed. Sain shrugged, smiling defiantly at the group of bandits. He knew he could never trust bandits, and he never wanted to trust them anyway, not after all that happened on his adventure with the Lady Lyndis.

"Sorry, but the ladies would never forgive me if I just gave up now," the ex-paladin replied, the smug smile seeming to anger the bandit leader. "Especially to a group of ruffians like yourselves."

"Fine then, ya'll just have ta DIE!" the bandit leader yelled, pointing the oddly designed axe at headband wearing lance user. Sain eyes widened as he recognized the design as that of a Killer weapon. Weapons in the "Killer" class are enchanted to greatly improve the user's abilities at random times for an instant, which is often just long enough to kill their opponent, or, at the very least, deal more damage than the wielder would normally be capable of doing. Myrmidons and Swordmasters are the most known for using Killer weapons, since they are able to draw out the mystical power more than other fighters can.

'Got to watch out for that one' Sain cautioned himself, knowing just what would happen if the sword's enchantment took affect at the right, or wrong moment in his case.

The mages ran all ran out to the sides, still out of range, working on trapping their target instead of attacking head on. Sain quickly changed his focus to the oncoming group of barbarians and mercenaries, since the mages were beyond his range to attack.

Readying his lance, Sain ran forward to the first bandit he came upon and thrust into the barbarian's shoulder. The bandit instantly dropped the axe he wielded and clutched at the wound. The ex-paladin then kicked the wounded man into the sword user that came next, knocking them both to the ground.

Sain jumped back to avoid the vertical slash of another sword wielding mercenary, only to be met by another man wielding an axe too close to be attacked by lance. As the axe was swung, the ex-mercenary quickly drew the sword on his left side with his left hand, and hit the axe as hard as he could with a backhanded strike. The ex-paladin succeeded in not getting sliced in two, but unfortunately, the axe had come down upon his silver lance, breaking the silver tip off of it. Sain growled in anger at the man who had the nerve to destroy his great lance.

"Do you realize how much that weapon had cost me?" Sain questioned the bandit, seething. He switched the sword to his right hand, and began to channel special energy into it, preparing something special. Instead of giving a dumb answer the brown-haired man expected, the bald bandit replied very intelligently.

"Well, approximately, Silver lances cost around…5,000 gold, but considering the customization that it has…or had, I'd say it had cost around, eh, 6,500?"

"Damn, you're good," Sain said, lowering his weapon in amazement. "I would figure a filthy bandit like yourself would avoid using your brain, especially when it comes to mathematics."

The bandit shrugged. "Well, since I'm in charge of the supplies, I have to know what I'm doing, or the boss would have my hide." The bandit then shook his head, ready to get back to business. "If you give up now, I promise you a quick painless death, but otherwise, you'll be tortured by the boss."

"Sorry good sir, but my death would disappoint the ladies that have yet to experience my presence. I'm going to have to turn you down," Sain smirked, swinging his sword up through the air.

"SANDSTORM SLASH!!" Sain yelled, shocking the smart bandit who jumped back to avoid getting struck by the oncoming blade. The bald man scratched his head, obviously confused about how the proclaimed attack would work. _'I thought we made certain we weren't attacking any Swordmasters, because we would never win against one of those monsters. Those guys give me the creeps,'_ the bandit thought.

Suddenly, the sand in front of Sain began to flow quickly into the air, flying into the bandit, much of the grains getting into his eyes. Sain grinned as the bandit dropped the steel axe onto the ground, letting off a howl of pain. He clawed his eyes, hoping to rub the sand out. Swiftly, the ex-paladin grasped the handle of the steel axe, and then struck the bandit in the chest with it. He followed up with a horizontal slice with the sword in his right hand to the man's neck, decapitating the genius bandit.

"I'm sorry about that, but I need to survive, so you had to be the one that fell," the ex-paladin stated, sheathing his sword switching the axe to his right hand, giving it a few practice swings. He noticed something was rather odd when no more bandits came up to him, and were all standing a good distance away. Arcane words being softly spoken all around him soon caught his attention, and Sain realized that he was surrounded by the 8 mages, all chanting the same spell, at the same time.

"Well, this is new. The bandits are much more organized then usual," he said to himself, looking up to see dark clouds form above him. He smiled, knowing exactly how it would turn out. "This is the end then, there's really nothing I can do to get out of this one. Too bad, I guess I didn't get to find my true love."

Black clouds gathered together, and one giant bolt of lighting arced down to where Sain stood. He watched, smiling, knowing that this was his end, and there was no avoiding it. Too bad, there were so many beautiful ladies he had yet to meet. After what seemed to be long time, at least for Sain, the bolt struck its target, and a blinding white light met everyone's eyes.

All the bandit mages smiled, knowing full well that their strategy had succeeded. What kind of person could survive the combination of eight thunder spells? Some turned to walk away, while others waited for the dust brought up by the force of the attack to clear.

When the particles of dust that had obstructed the remaining mages' view fell back to the earth, the supposedly dead man was still standing there, alive, with no noticeable damage at all.

Sain stood looking at his hands, having dropped the axe to the ground, as if to wonder how he could still see them. A smile grew, and he pumped his hand into the air in victory.

"Ha! Even eight combined thunder spells couldn't stop me!" he yelled at the bandits. They all looked at him, completely stupefied at his survival.

"Let's try it again boys, he won't be able to survive another one!" One bandit decided and the others nodded in agreement and ran quickly out to surround their foe.

"Not this time," Sain said to himself, drawing the Wind Sword from its scabbard on his back, and swung it in the direction of one of the mages. Instead of the green wind magic he expected to see, his eyes widened as a bolt of lightning lashed out from the blade and struck down the bandit mage. He looked at his blade only to see its green colored blade had changed to a yellow color, small arcs of electricity traveling across the blade.

"Well, that was surely unexpected. Gotta thank Seta for that one," Sain said, as he faced the rest of the mages. "So, who's next?" he asked, a confident smirk adorning his face.

The mages panicked and turned to their leader questioningly. The lead mage was just as nervous as the rest, and tried his best to think of a strategy.

"Maybe if we gang up on him again it'll get through?" he suggested, and Sain had to catch himself from falling over when he heard it.

"Are you kidding?! He'll just absorb it again," another mage pointed straight at leader, who shrugged.

"Well, there's only one thing left to do," the leader said, all the mages turning back to face the unstoppable warrior, a fire burning in all of their eyes.

"RUN AWAY!!"

Sain watched, right eye twitching periodically as all the enemy mages fled in terror, dust trailing them as they disappeared beyond the horizon.

"It seems my skills were too great for them to comprehend," he said, obviously pleased with himself. "Now, where's that ugly leader guy?"

Walking up a nearby sand dune, having heard laughter beyond it, he could clearly make out the leader and some of his henchmen sitting on crates and drinking bottles alcohol a little bit off in the distance. Sain shook his head, and stalked towards the enemies.

"It seems my foes have already given up huh?" He said rather loudly to himself, purposefully gaining the attention of the bandits. "I mean, aren't you guys supposed to make sure I'm dead before partying?"

"You watch yurself stranger!" One of the more…decent looking bandits roared at him, pulling out his iron axe ready to rush the defying man who dared interrupt their celebration of the man's death. "Or you be needin a new throat ta breath out a."

"I'd honestly like to see you simpletons try." With that, the rest of the bandits got up and rushed forward as a group, weapons bared.

"Oh well, you guys asked for it," Sain said, shrugging before taking an attacking stance with his electrically charged Wind Blade. He swung it all the away around himself, and one by one the bandits were each struck by a bolt of lighting from above, instantly felling each of them. The ex-paladin looked around at the bodies, but couldn't find the leader.

Suddenly a hand grabbed onto his arm and wrenched the sword from his hand. "Thanks fo getting me this nice valuable weapon here, I'll now be unstoppable," the bandit said arrogantly, before kicking Sain to the ground and picking up the sword. The ex-paladin groaned as he got a mouthful of sand.

"Well, time ta die soldier, good luck ta ya in ta aftalife!" and the sword started to descend. But the pain he had expected didn't come. Instead he heard a thud to his right, the bandit completely missed him and fell face first into the sand, stunned.

'What the heck just happened,' Sain thought as he quickly got up and snatched his magic sword back. Looking at the ground, he noticed the bandit's foot lodged underneath a lot of sand, and it seemed that the odd placement caused the bandit to lose his balance when he started to swing. A large grin grew on the ex-paladins face and he pointed the sword at the bandit.

"Well, it seems our roles have reversed again. I'm sorry, but I'm not much of a fan of people threatening my life, you understand."

The bandit leader growled angrily, quickly getting up to rush Sain before anything else could happen. Unfortunately for him, he was too late, and he was stabbed right through his shoulder. Not that that would be enough to kill him, bandits were tough little buggers. No, what killed the poor man was the high level current that rushed through him from the blade to get to the ground. He pulled his sword out of the man and looked at the recently returned green blade, and wiped off the blood with a handkerchief.

"Well…that was anticlimactic. Oh well, now to find Lord Pent, where ever he might be," he said, looking around at the desert around him. Too bad there was no landmarks to help him get back on track. "Ah crap, now I'm lost. Just great."

"Greetings Sain!" The ex-paladin turned around upon hearing a familiar voice and saw the blue haired mage general walking down a sand dune to meet him. "So how was your quest?"

"Eventful. How did you find me here?" Sain asked, clearly confused as to how he was found so quickly after the battle.

"Well, I felt some large discharges of magic coming from out here, so I figured I'd investigate. Any clue as to what it could be?"

"Probably the combination of 8 thunder spells," Sain shrugged, wearing a victorious smile.

"And you survived?!" Pent asked, baffled.

"Yup, it was no match for the Great Weaponsmaster Sain!" he said proudly.

"Right then, you can explain it later, I suppose, as well as how the rest of your journey went." Pent stated. "Now lets get back home."

As they walked, Pent spotted something, or rather someone off in the distance. Though it was hard, he was able to make out the shape of a woman through the haziness of the desert, which soon disappeared. He stopped and searched around for any sign of what he saw, turning his head quickly. He was brought back to focus by a light tap on his shoulder.

"Something wrong, Lord Pent," his guest asked, concerned.

"It was nothing, sorry. Let us go get some rest, we'll talk about your adventure in the after supper," he said, a welcoming smile adorning his face. Sain smiled and nodded in return.

"I can't wait to have some more of your wife's cooking, Lord Pent, it was probably the greatest I've ever had," Sain commented as they continued through the desert to Pent's underground home.

When they arrived, Sain was in awe of the sight, even though he had been there before. A great temple of sorts, built with the sturdiest of stone. There was no sign of decay or cracking, despite the many hundred years it had been living underneath a great desert. It was as if the place was protected by a great magic.

They both walked down the great hallway, passing by the great stone columns that held up the ceiling.

"This place sure is big, how do you and Louise find each other? Magic detection?"

"Nope, nothing like that. I figured of all people, you would understand the power of love," Pent said, smirking as he looked over the self proclaimed Weaponsmaster. Sain nearly tripped over his own feet, and glared at his host.

"You are a cruel man, Lord Pent. Attacking a the most sensitive part of a lonely man searching for a soul mate, have you no shame?" He said in mock offense, recovering quickly. The blue haired sage could only laugh at his company's antics.

"Sain, you are a funny man indeed." Pent placed his hand on the other man's shoulder as he led them into another room. The room was actually quite small, considering the rest of the home. There were a few comfortable looking chairs, a small table, and a couple shelves full of large and small books inside the room, making for a comfy atmosphere. And there was Pent's wife, Louise, sitting down in one of the chairs reading a book. The blond woman was well into her pregnancy, but that only made her all the more radiant.

"Lady Louise, I am humbled yet again to be in your lovely presence. Your beauty seems to be brighter than a full moon---Oww!" Sain yelled as a large book bounced off his head and fell onto the floor.

Louise smiled, and looked curiously to her husband, who only shrugged, seeming to have no clue as to what happened. Sain glared angrily at the book for daring to damage his head in such an indecent matter.

"Well, hello Sain, how have you been lately?" Louise asked, standing up out of her chair to greet their guest.

"I've been doing quite well, thank you madam. How have you two fared since the great battle?"

"We have been fairing very well," claimed Pent, both he and his wife smiling brightly. "Now, why don't we sit down, and you can tell us about how the journey went. I'm sure it was an interesting one."

"Yes, yes it was, and I'm quite sure you already knew what was going to happen. Great foresight on your part I'm sure. Anyway, it all began when I was in the Etrurian capitol, trying to find some willing mercenaries to go to the old palace…"

For a couple of hours, Sain told the lovely couple of his adventure, meeting Seta and Keitaro, both of which had already planned on going to the palace of the risen goddess, to the fight with the bandits. He was fully submerged into his story, giving exact details of what had happened, what his thoughts were at the time, and sometimes getting out of his seat to demonstrate what he had done. Through it all, Pent and Louise listened intently, until it was time for the meal to be prepared. The blond woman excused herself from the room, leaving Pent and Sain alone.

"Well Sain, I'll be honest with you. That wish of yours wasn't exactly the wisest of choices. As a rule for wishes, a being's will cannot be taken away from them, so your wish was denied." Pent explained. Sain nodded in understanding, still a little unhappy about it.

"Yeah, I realize that, but what a waste of a perfectly good wish huh?"

"Not true at all. It shows that you are searching hard for something that can't be attained easily. One cannot gain love instantly, but must grow with their partner, learn to understand each other. Instantly receiving love will not make life for you any better, in fact it would only make it worse. Besides," Pent said, wearing one of those knowing smiles on his face, "You were blessed by a Goddess, that has to stand for something right?"

Sain looked at him oddly, not comprehending his meaning. "Sure, I guess meeting the Goddess herself is a blessing, but does that really do anything for me in the long run?"

"I'm sure it will. But I'm sure your tired and hungry, so lets go enjoy one of my wife's famous meals and then you can go get some well deserved sleep."

('' ) ( ' ' )v v( ' ' ) ( '') 

"Leaving so soon?" The wise sage asked, leaning against the wall near the exit to his home. Sain looked at him and grinned, shouldering his backpack.

"Of course! Love waits for no man, and so, farewell Lord Pent, and may your child be healthy and beautiful," and with that, Sain departed Pent's home, walking off onto the horizon.

"Wonder if he'll be alright, my love?" Louise said, walking up to her husband and leaning against him. Pent put his arm around his wife, hugging her close.

"I'm sure he will."

( ' ' ) BONUS! (Enjoy)

The coastal town of Rinof, one of the few small harbors that connected the country of Missur to the ocean, was a truly peaceful place. It wasn't an often-visited place, since not many people entered Missur unless they had some business in the infamous desert. The people of Rinof were the best of their trade, and had a stable trading deal with other countries for their abilities. What skills were the people of Rinof known for you ask? Well, it was fishing of course. Since the harbor was so close to a desert, and right next to an ocean, crops had a very hard time growing. Due to this hardship, the people of Rinof learned to survive off fish, and mastered the way of catching the ocean-living creatures.

It was because of the trading deals that Sain decided to travel to this small town, hoping to find a ride to a Lycian port. Of course, the chances of him finding one were rather slim since, as far as he knew, trading boats rarely came to Rinof. There was little to know about a distant fishing town when one lived in an inland city for most of his life.

The self-proclaimed Weaponsmaster walked into the small town, smiling happily as he hummed an old Lycian tune. His spirits were high, and he was sure luck would be on his side and provide him an easy way back to Lycia. Of course, the best place to find traveling merchants was always the bar or tavern of a town, and that was where Sain headed.

He stepped up to the door, noting the name "The Gray Swordfish" written on it, and shook his head at the lack of creativity. Nonetheless, he opened the door wide and strode inside, taking a quick glance around the place. There were only around 6 customers in the whole place, not a good sign. The door closed quickly and the loud sound it provided caused Sain to jump out of shock. Most of the people there quietly laughed at his response, but it had no effect on the ex-soldier.

He walked over to the bar, smiling like the fool he was, and sat down on a stool.

"What will you have, stranger?" the bartender asked uninterestedly, occupying his time by wiping out a mug with a dry rag, standard bartender procedure. He was a big man, and his bearded face looked somewhat intimidating.

"I'll have a pint of the cheapest ale you have, good sir." The stranger responded, grinning like he was the richest man in the world buying Elibe's most famous, tastiest, and most expensive drink (A wine made from the rarest of all grapes, grown in the Illian Mountains, which is very hard to do. It is said that it could knock out a horse, not that anyone would test the theory…well maybe).

'Great, I have myself a weirdo,' the bartender thought to himself wryly as he readied the stranger's drink. Rinof never got too many happy-go-lucky types passing through.

"Here you go," the owner of the "The Gray Swordfish," said, placing a mug of ale in front of the traveling warrior.

"Thanks you, good sir" the man then proceeded to gulp down half of the mug fairly quickly. Placing the mug back down on the counter, and looked at the bartender again.

"So, do you know of any merchants that are heading towards Lycia anytime soon?" he asked, hopefully. The bartender grinned knowingly, and resumed drying his glass mug.

"Sorry, but we haven't had much in the way of merchants lately. I think the next one is due in two or three weeks, but I doubt you could afford lodging for that amount of time without pawning off your belongings." The smile the new guy wore had disappeared immediately and was replaced by an expression of disappointment.

"Darn, and I was hoping that I wouldn't have to walk all that way…" he trailed off, grabbing his mug, and drank down the rest of his drink. The man slouched on his stool, sighing dejectedly.

"Look pal, I'll give you some information for free, okay? Just don't get all depressed on me, I hate people who come to drink their sorrows away, and you are beginning to look like one of them," the big man offered, placing the now dry mug underneath the counter. The stranger's smile returned, his eye's widening and focusing on the bartender, giving the man every bit of his attention. The bartender leaned down and began talking in a softer voice, so no one else would hear him.

"Now, for a few days now, I've had this strange couple come in here and sit at that there table," he started, pointing at the table he mentioned. "One was a big man, and I mean big. Large muscles, scary eyes, looked like one of them pirates if you ask me. Odd thing was, he came in with a shorter woman, blue hair, wore light armor, pretty as they get, but fierce as they come, judging from the way she yelled at the poor guy. They seemed to be arguing over this paper, and I heard the word "treasure," a few times." The bearded man scratched his chin in thought.

"Now, I'd head over to the dock as soon as possible to see if they'd give you a lift, they should be pretty much done with supplying their ship," he advised. His customer stuffed his hand into his satchel, pulled out a couple of coins and placed them on the counter.

"Thanks for your help, good sir. But now I must hurry, so I must bid thee farewell," the stranger said, bowing, before sprinting out the door.

"What an unusual person, ah well, guess it's time to go back to being bored…again."

-Omake 1-

"SANDSTORM SLASH!!" Sain yelled, shocking the smart bandit who jumped back to avoid getting struck by the oncoming blade. The bald man scratched his head, obviously confused about how the proclaimed attack would work. After a few more moments of nothing happening, Sain quickly took a book out of his pack and began to sift through the pages.

"Aha!" he yelled as he discovered the page he needed again. The bandit's mouth dropped, stunned by the stupidity of his enemy. Seriously, what kind of warrior takes out a book in the middle of battle for their life?

"Mind if I try that again? I'll get it right this time." Sain asked, smiling sheepishly as he put the book away. The bandit scratched his confusedly, not quite sure how to respond.

"Ah…um…sure, go ahead."

-Omake 2-

"Lady Louise, I am humbled yet again to be in your lovely presence. Your beauty seems to be brighter than a full moon---Oww!" Sain yelled as a large book bounced off his head and fell onto the floor.

Louise smiled, and looked curiously to her husband, who only shrugged, seeming to have no clue as to what happened. Sain glared angrily at the book for daring to damage his head in such an indecent matter. But one book would never stop Sain from complimenting a lady, and as soon as he opened his mouth again to continue another large book fell and bounced off his head.

Pent and Louise watched in awe as each and every book from the bookshelf behind Sain floated above Sain and dropped on his head as he was about to speak. The poor man never gave up though, and eventually there were no more books on the shelf to use to hit him. Unfortunately for Sain, he was finally silenced as the bookshelf tipped and fell right on top of him.

Louise turned her head and gave her husband an unpleased look. "I know you don't like it when I get complimented by other men, but isn't that just going to far?"

"But, I didn't do it! I swear, Louise." She only turned her head away from him, refusing to look at the cause of their guest's misfortune.

"Hmph, looks like your sleeping in one of the guest rooms tonight, love." The Mage General could only sigh defeat, dropping his head.

-Omake 3 (By Avof)-

Black clouds gathered together, and one giant bolt of lighting arced down to where Sain stood. He watched, smiling, knowing that this was his end, and there was no avoiding it. Too bad, there were so many beautiful ladies he had yet to meet. After what seemed to be long time, at least for Sain, the bolt struck its target, and a blinding white light met everyone's eyes.

All the bandit mages smiled, knowing full well that their strategy had succeeded. What kind of person could survive the combination of eight thunder spells? Some turned to walk away, while others waited for the dust brought up by the force of the attack to clear.

When the particles of dust that had obstructed the remaining mages' view fell back to the earth, all traces of their target had vanished.

"Sweet Elimine, we got him!" One of the mages exclaimed.

"Oh hell no, you did not just bring me into this!" A voice yelled in anger, and a bright light struck down the offending mage.

The head mage looked at the spot their comrade had formerly stood. "Let this be a lesson to the rest of you. Don't bring deities into personal squabbles; they don't appreciate the bad publicity."

(Elsewhere)

Sain woke up slowly, blinking to get used to the bright desert sun. "What happened? Last thing I remember, those mages were just about to finish me off. But," Sain looked over his body and found no injuries, "I seem to be fine, and there isn't a bandit in sight..."

However all of Sain's thought processes came to a screeching halt when he saw a vision in the distance, one that should not have been possible. "What the hell is going on here?" Sain wondered, preparing himself of the fight of his life.

A/N: And that's an end to chapter 3. I hope you all enjoyed it. In a conversation with Avof about the Omake he wrote, and idea came to my head to make a sister story to this one, and I am planning on continuing another story where he left off. First off, thanks to Avof for all his help, it's greatly appreciated. Second, thank you to all that read this, constructive criticism is very much appreciated.

Until next time,

JSB


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